The Bogatyr of Nav'
by Kaimi Kreissel
Summary: Milla was leading a relatively peaceful life until a mysterious woman appeared pursued by soldiers. What is the book she protects so much? What mysteries does it hold? / Tales of Zestiria-styled AU with influence from Slavic mythology.
1. Chapter 1: The Mysterious Woman

(August 15, 2016)

* * *

 **Chapter 1. The Mysterious Woman**

* * *

The sun hung high in the sky, but the ever cloudy swamp was rarely treated with its rays. The shadiness of the place was a great environment to monsters, especially slimes, possessed flora, and specters who love damp and darkness. Quaggy bedding, deep ponds, and densely growing trees are good hunting grounds for such foul creatures. If someone looses themselves in such a place they end up as a meal for the lurking evil. More often than not, even most of combat trained civilians and soldiers have problems defending themselves.

However there were two people there, fighting the monsters. The first was a man with long white hair tied in a bun and olive green eyes. He wore a tight dark brown undersuit, a white sleeveless tunic, pants adorned with brown patterns and fingerless gloves with brown outlines. His look was completed with a pair of red shoes. Accompanying him was a woman with long blonde hair, a noticeable bang with green tips on the left side of her head, and magenta-colored eyes. Her attire consisted of a white top revealing a rather large amount of her stomach and lower half of her back, a white skirt with a purple and green floral pattern, and purple sleeves laced with pink laces. Knee-high light pink boots with black accents were tied to roughly two-thirds of their height, also with pink laces, completing her look.

The duo was on a yet another training session in the swamp. Out of all the terrains surrounding their village the wetlands offered monsters with which the training was most rewarding. Not many other inhabitants ventured there, preferring to keep to the calmer environment with a little number of monster attacks.

As they were heading towards the darker area of the swamp, they were suddenly attacked by a brown specter of a boar head. It cast a spell on the man causing several stones shoot out from the ground and damage him. However he brushed it off with a smirk, and charged at the monster slashing it a few times with his daggers in reverse grip. The woman joined him in the attack, quickly slashing the creature with her sword thrice. The monster was angered and started to furiously spin around the two, creating a vortex of dust and water. The two shielded their eyes when the specter rushed at the woman, leaving yellow sparkles behind itself. The strike was so strong it threw her back a few meters.

The man roared, seeing the woman wounded from the creature's attack, and charged at it. He conjured a yellow glyph on it and rushed threw it, then charged at it from another side. He then leaped into the air and with a frontal spin crashed into the enemy, stalagmites emerging from the impact zone. The monster made an angry face and large spectral spikes emerged from it at its unsuspecting attacker throwing him away at a nearby tree. Then the woman leaped into the air, pointing her blade at the enemy, and a beam of light shoot from it. With a final roar, the monster started to disperse into violet sparkles and soon after it was gone.

"You shouldn't have thrown yourself into that fiend like that," the woman helped the man stand up.  
"I couldn't stand seeing you get hurt!" he replied.  
"I can handle myself," she glared at him. "Come, let's get back to the village. It's getting dark."

The woman gave the man a red gel which he ate despite his initial protests, the product making him feel rejuvenated.

Their walk back home was accompanied by attacks of a few lesser monsters, but they handled them quite well. Of course, the man did come a few times between the monsters' attacks against the woman, despite her assertion that she can handle herself.

Just when they were about to enter a less forested and drier area, an explosion roared in the distance. As they turned behind themselves they noticed fires in the distance. The flames were slowly coming closer to them.

"Should we go to the village and tell the elder?" the man asked.

The woman thought for a while, waging their options.

"No, the village is farther away from us then are those fires," she replied. "We should go and see what's going on."  
"What if it's something too big even for _us_ to handle?" he worried.  
"That's strange coming from you," she said with a somewhat amused face.  
"Y-you think so?" the man gave a confused gaze.

And then he darted toward the fires. The woman sighed and followed him.

As she was running she noticed a strange lack of monsters. She attributed that to the fire which served as a stark change for the creatures relishing in the darkness.

She quickly caught up with the man and advanced further. The temperature was slowly rising and becoming a nuisance for the two. A burning branch suddenly fell from a tree as they were running and they managed to slide just as it was about to crash them. Then a tree burst with fire, knocking them away a few meters.

They looked at each other and as if understanding each other they stood up and rushed.

Finally after a few moments, they arrived at a large clearing where soldiers clad in red armor were attacking a lone woman with nearly white hair with blue tips. She was surprisingly handling her opponents rather well, but the overwhelming amount of them was quickly taking a toll on her. Then suddenly a large water bubble appeared above a group of soldiers and burst, splashing her enemies.

"Spirit artes!?" the man exclaimed.  
"We have to help her!" the woman said, and joined the other woman with series of quick thrusts around one of the soldiers.  
"Who are you?" the other woman then spoke surprised.  
"No time for that," the blonde replied and continued her assault.  
"She has backup!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Take them out!"

The women were then joined by the man attacking one of the soldiers with a leap over him and charging and slashing at him in midair. Then a graceful slash was performed by the blonde at the few enemies which surrounded her, followed with a powerful kick which knocked her opponents out.

Then from the back came a shot, missing the other woman. The soldiers quickly dispersed making somewhat of a path for someone. Moments later, a man with silver hair and red tips framing his face emerged, a strange weapon in his right hand. He aimed at the other woman, an angry and tired expression on his face.

"That was a warning shot. If you won't give me back the Book, I won't hesitate to kill you," he said.  
"Really now?" the woman spoke, she seemed quite assured of herself even though she was vastly outnumbered, even including the two mysterious people at her side. "Can you even read that?" and she waved a rather large book with a fawn cover, an ornate dark brown V on its front, and a cheeky smile on her face.  
"Once I'll get my hands on that Book you won't need to concern yourself with such details," he replied.

Then the blonde woman pointed her blade at the demanding man, a crossed look on her face as well.

"Who are you? And what do you intend to do with that book?"  
"Battlecorps, kill those two," he ordered the soldiers. "They gave us enough trouble. Besides, they know too much."

And then a dozen of soldiers threw themselves at the two people. The man and woman cooperated in their swift victory, their blades cutting down all their foes in a somewhat of a dance. Just as the man was to show thumb up with a big grin on his face to his partner, a shot was heard. The woman then quickly toppled him and they both fell on the ground, the shot missing them by a few centimeters.

The man then growled and shot at them a few more times but the bullets met a wall of ice. The two looked up and saw the woman between them and the wall.

"Quick, stand up!" she rushed them. "This wall won't hold them for long."

The two looked around and it appeared they surrounded by ice.

"That's a really powerful spirit arte!" the man exclaimed. "You just _gotta_ teach it to me!"  
"We have more pressing matters at hand," the blonde said, pointing at the slowly shattering ice. "We'll help you escape from them."  
"Really? We will?" the man asked surprised. He was simply ignored by the two accompanying women.  
"What do you suggest we do?" the other woman asked.  
"Deep within the Floodmeadow there is a powerful fiend. We'll lead them to it and wake it. That should buy us some time."  
"You don't mean—?" the man started, but was interrupted by the blonde:  
"Yes, I mean it." Then the ice wall shattered. "Follow me!" she quickly said to the other two and started running.  
"After them, you idiots!" the man with the strange weapon yelled.

The trio then ran towards a forest which was getting denser by a minute. A few monsters appeared along the way trying to fight them but were outrun. In the distance the trio could hear soldiers' voices, some sounded to be mortally wounded by the monsters' attack judging by their cries of agony and despair.

After few minutes they arrived to a small clearing where a great tree stood. Well, it looked like a tree, but it was certainly breathing, judging by the delicate up and down movement of its branches.

The blonde then put her pointing finger to her mouth, indicating that they need to be quite and gently waved her hand signaling to follow her. They hid in a thicket and waited for the soldiers to come.

Moments later a group of soldiers, led by the man with the red tips, appeared. They were looking around, poking their swords and staffs into bushes and whatnot, but without any success.

The blonde then nodded at the man. He grinned and conjured a yellow circle which imploded and shoot several stones out of it towards the tree in the center. Nearly instantly it took effect. The monster woke up, shooting leaves out of its branches at soldiers. The soldiers' leader managed to avoid them, hiding behind a rock.

At that moment, the blonde then signaled the other two to follow her and soon after were far away from the rampaging tree. The pair was leading the mysterious woman a different path they came to the Floodmeadow as a precaution to avoid being followed by any stray soldiers if there were any.

About half an hour later the trio left the swamp, a warm sunset welcoming them. They stopped to rest; the soldiers were far away from them now. Not so far on the horizon the group could see a village.

Just as the man was about to continue their walk back to the village, his companion halted him. She turned to woman with the bright hair with blue tips, her hair were somehow styled to look like animal ears. She had amber eyes behind glasses with dark blue frames. She wore white shirt exposing her stomach and lower back, a blue bolero with a purple-blue feathery scarf around her neck, and light blue shorts wide at legs' bottom making it appear like a skirt which had white wide vertical lines at their front and back. Silver blue and white heels reaching til her knees completed her look along with blue gloves and a gold bracer on her left wrist. In her right hand she held the book she fought for a few minutes ago. However, the strangest thing about her was a presence of a tail.

"Who are you?" she asked her.  
"No one you should concern yourself with," she replied with a smirk of confidence.  
"Really? We did help you back there. An explanation should be in place, don't you think?"  
"I didn't ask for your help." The woman nonchalantly waved her left hand close to her face, one of the bangs framing her face fluttered with the hand's wave. "But I suppose thanks are in order, so… thanks."  
"Just 'thanks'!? Who do you think you are!? Talking to—!" the man started, angry.  
" _Ivar_ ," the blonde interrupted him. "That is enough."  
"But—!"

The blonde looked at the man with a scolding look. He immediately shut up and looked away from the two women. He felt like air, ignored.

"Let me handle this." Then she turned to the other woman, "I'm Milla." She extended her hand.  
"Maybe you have some manners after all," she replied after glancing at the two for a moment. "Very well then, I'm Presa."  
"Ivar," the man said, a crossed look on his face.  
"So can you tell us what was that battle about?" Milla asked Presa.  
"Maybe later," and after a short pause added, "If you deserve it."  
"Let's get to the village," Ivar growled.

The angry man treated ahead of the two women. Milla sighed and soon joined Ivar, followed by Presa.

None would presume of the great and perilous journey which awaited them.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

So this an idea I've been entertaining for the past few weeks: a _Zestiria_ -styled _Xillia_ story. This is more or less a concept chapter, but if the reception will be good, there'll be more chapters.

I made slight adjustments to Ivar and Milla's _Xillia_ outfits, but decided to went with something more... modest? for Presa; her outfit is simply ridiculous!

Also, since _Xillias_ naming conventions are largely based on Slavic mythology expect a lot of references to that.


	2. Chapter 2: Departure

(September 5, 2017)

* * *

 **Chapter 2. Departure**

* * *

The three arrived several minutes later to a riverside village. At each exit of the settlement there was a large gate and within the settlement were houses resembling bronze domes. A lot of household animals, including hens, rappigs, and cows, were living there as well. Many inhabitants were tending to their duties.

"Welcome to Nia Khera," Milla introduced the village to Presa.

"A quaint little village," the other woman commented.

"I'll go inform the elder," Ivar spoke.

As Ivar departed, Milla decided to give a tour of Nia Khera to Presa, but the guest haven't found anything noteworthy. The blonde then showed the other woman an intriguing structure: it appeared as a pillar of a height of an average person with a roof and a red stone on a pedestal inside it.

"What's this?" Presa asked intrigued.

"This is one of the altars to the Four Great Spirits we have here. This one is dedicated to Efreet," Milla explained.

"The faith here is strong..." the guest muttered to herself. "Maybe someone here will be able to help me."

"What was that?" asked Milla, who was occupied with explaining how all buildings there were constructed.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," Presa gave her an innocent smile.

"All right."

Ivar then appeared and informed that the elder is waiting for them at the shrine. The three made their way westward, through the Nia Khera Spiritway, beyond which the shrine rested and a curious elder as well. They encountered several fiends as they walked but they handled them with ease.

After the trio climbed a long staircase, they found themselves at a plaza surrounded by trees and far in front of them a building, a much larger bronze dome than the ones seen in the village.

"So who is the elder here?" wondered Presa.

"She's a powerful spirit," Milla replied.

"Oh."

Considering that pretty much the netire village was populated by spirits shouldn't surprise her, however she had a feeling there was something more to it.

"Be respectful to her," Ivar finally spoke, who was rather silent since Presa's introduction. The guest haven't replied and pressed forward.

They opened the door and Presa was welcomed with a really intriguing sight: a woman with long sea green hair with green tips was floating several centimeters above ground with the help of intricately designed white and bright blue wings. The guest has sensed something different from the elder, a foreign power, one that she hasn't ever felt in her life.

"Welcome," the elder spoke and turned around. "I am Muzét."

The woman had pointy ears with sea green tips and a short sea green fringe in a neat, even parting. Her white and blue outfit was also as intricate as her wings with hands-gloves blending into the outfit and legs having a sort of large socks.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Presa," the guest introduced herself.

Muzét has taken a deep look at Presa and noticed the book that the other woman had so feverishly protected earlier that day. She has lifted her eyes from the book and looked at the guest.

"Milla, Ivar, you're dismissed for the time being," Muzét has informed the two without looking at them, intending to speak with Presa in private.

The blonde and her companion has left: the man was surprised by the elder's action, but the woman thought nothing of it. They decided to rest on the plaza, waiting for Muzét and Presa to finish their conversation.

Muzét's behavior struck Milla a bit odd; she noticed the look she gave to Presa's book. She could already tell there was something potentially dangerous about the book, considering that the elder usually didn't mind Milla and Ivar's presence whenever they brought someone to her who have wandered to the village's perimeter.

Some time later both women left the shrine while whispering about something. Muzét then turned to Milla.

"Milla, if it's not much trouble let Presa stay the night at your house. But before you do, please help her gather some provisions for the road ahead."

"You're leaving, so soon?" the blonde asked surprised.

"Yes, I'm afraid I can't stay too long," the guest replied. "Duty calls."

" _I_ 'm not complaining," Ivar said nonchalantly.

He was getting irritated by Presa. Sure, she was a good and confident fighter, but her behavior was driving him mad. The sooner she'd be gone from the village, the sooner he would resume the peaceful life with Milla.

"Ivar, it is not nice to treat guests with such attitude," Milla scolded him. "You have your pride as a spirit to uphold."

Ivar simply growled in discontent. They were too pampering towards Presa in his opinion. He then left the shrine and went towards the village.

"Someone hasn't matured quite well like some other people here," Presa remarked, fixing her glasses.

"Well, get ready for tomorrow. I hope you'll succeed in your endeavors," Muzét said.

"I dare say I had quite a success already," the guest replied and smiled strangely towards Milla who hasn't noticed it, still upset about Ivar's behavior.

Milla and Presa then decided to go back to the village as Muzét retreated to the shrine.

* * *

Ivar had already made it back to the village and came across several hens who were clearly in distraught. He wasn't feeling helping them, but they were having their little dispute right in front of his house. So much for a rest.

"Go on, scram!" he yelled at them. They however hadn't listened at all and continued their clucking. "Or do you wanna end up as tonight's dinner?"

He took one of his daggers and pointed it straight at the unruly group. This however only made the situation worse and hens have all ganged up on him, intending on pecking him to death. He quickly deflected the attacks with his dagger, but the sheer anger of his enemies was quickly wearing him down.

"That's it!" he grew angry. "Terra Spin!"

He crouched and performed a counterclockwise half-spin kick with his left leg, knocking his adversaries away. The hens were so shocked they didn't even move. Ivar used this opportunity to quickly enter his house. He loudly slammed the door and punched the wall.

"Just who does she think she is!? Appearing out of nowhere, with soldiers on her tail, causing such a ruckus already?"

Ivar was sure he wouldn't get much sleep tonight.

* * *

Milla and Presa were passing through the Spiritway back to the village. There were occasional attacks from fiends but nothing out of the ordinary they couldn't handle.

* * *

 **Skit: Life in Nia Khera**

 _Characters present: Presa, Milla_

 **Presa** : "From what little I've seen of Nia Khera everyone seems to have something to do, even the young spirits. What about you?"

 **Milla** : "You could say I'm keeping the village safe from fiend attacks with Ivar's help. Why do you ask?"

 **Presa** : "'Could say'?"

 **Milla** : "Don't try avoiding my question."

 **Presa** : "It's simple curiosity. I thought that such an esteemed swordswoman like yourself would have some bigger task on her hands. Still, what did you mean by 'could say'?"

 **Milla** : "Nothing. (I feel like she's testing me, but why?) Forget I said that."

* * *

When they returned to the village, the two women have smoothly gathered provisions for Presa's journey, the guest paying every single gald.

They then made to Milla's house: it was located in southwestern corner of the village. It wasn't anything special; it had pretty much everything every other house in Nia Khera had: a bed, a wardrobe, a drawer chest, some cooking utensils, and a fireplace in the center.

"I'll heat up some soup, I've got some leftovers from yesterday," Milla said.

"That'll be fine. Besides I haven't eaten a warm soup since forever."

Presa sat a small distance away from the fireplace and began reading the book that she protected a few hours ago. Milla on the other hand had started fire and after some time she put the soup on. As their meal was heating up, the blonde has fished a pair of bowls and spoons from one of her drawer chests and put them next to her seat. Presa was still browsing through the book, and despite its size was reading it rather quickly, much to Milla's surprise.

When the soup has finished warming up, she diffused it between the two plates and gave one to Presa for which she thanked for without looking back from her lecture. The two women ate in silence and when they were finished Milla washed up the dishes.

The blonde cocked her head, trying to understand importance of the book. She wondered what was in that book that would result in Presa being pursued by a human who wielded a truly strange weapon.

"Presa, if you don't mind me asking: what is in that book that makes it so important?" Milla finally decided to ask.

"There are things that shouldn't be made public," Presa replied, a confident smile on her face. "You don't need to concern yourself with that." And silently said to herself, "For now at least."

"All right. Let's go to sleep, you can rest in my bed," Milla proposed.

"Futon* will be enough."

"As you wish."

Milla wasn't exactly happy about letting Presa rest in futon for tonight but she wasn't the type to force someone. She prepared both for both of them and soon after they fell asleep, but not before Presa performing some kind of protection spell on the book and placing it on her chest, holding it tightly.

The night was peaceful, or it seemed so until an explosion sounded to the north and woke the entire village. Milla and Presa have awoken nearly instantly. The guest has grabbed her book and the bag with provisions.

"It appears I have overstayed my welcome," Presa said in a rather amused voice. "I'm afraid this is where we part our ways."

Presa then left the building and Milla followed her. Likely the Battlecorps decided to come this way after their search proved fruitless in the Floodmeadow. She didn't know what Battlecorps was exactly, but after seeing them back in the swamp gave her a general idea that it was likely a part of an army, but she couldn't say of which country it was.

When Milla left her house she encountered a truly tragic sight: the whole village was burning, buildings destroyed, some people fighting the Battlecorps, some dead.

"No..." was the only word that explained the blonde's lips as she clenched her fists.

Was the book that Presa carried _that_ important to that man?

Now she was torn between helping the villagers or helping Presa. On one hand, Nia Khera was her home, she has grown to care for every person in here, and seeing them in this state was truly heart-breaking. On the other hand, Presa and her mysterious book have already caused quite a stir, be it the Battlecorps or the village elder, and if the book were to fall into the wrong hands...

"Milla!"

Ivar suddenly came, landing near Milla and impaling one of his daggers into the ground, emitting a shockwave. The woman has come to her senses and saw one of the soldiers knocked out. She was so focused on herself, that she has lost focus on her surroundings.

"Thank you, Ivar."

"Those guys from the Floodmeadow are here," he informed her. "We could really use some help in driving them away. We may be spirits, but we aren't really combat-trained."

Milla then came to a decision: she will join Presa. Despite her moral obligations to the village, she decided to put herself into good use and accompany the newly-met woman. Something was telling her that the human-spirit relationship, and to an extend the world's fate, was in danger.

She retreated back to her house, leaving fighting to Ivar. She quickly grabbed her sword and some provisions. When she exited it, Ivar was still at the front of her house.

"Ivar, I need you to stay in the village and protect it," she said in commanding voice.

"What about you?" he asked. He was surprised, worried, and angered. A lot of emotions flashed through his voice.

"I decided to join Presa," she bluntly stated. "I fear her journey will be full of dangers and she alone won't be able to carry for very long."

"What are you saying!? You can't mean that!?" he was furious. "Ever since we met her she's been nothing but trouble!"

"It is not up for debate, Ivar," she replied calmly and turned her back against him, intending to follow Presa. "This is my path." And she run off, leaving Ivar dumbfounded.

* * *

Milla's house was relatively close to the eastern exit, yet with all the commotion and the Battlecorps it was proving difficult to move forward. Presa was just few meters from the gate as she was finishing off the last of her enemies with a large burst of ice shards that formed into a flowery-like structure. She was about to dash past the exit when a wall of fire burst just in front of her and she had to jump back.

She looked behind her and noticed the man from before. There were several soldiers at his side, all ready to attack her on his command. Presa was now annoyed, her previous cockiness gone with the man's constant attempts to seize the Book from her.

"Give it up, spirit," he said in a menacing voice. "Return the Book to me and I'll spare this village."

"'Spare' it?" Presa put on an amused mask. "It looks pretty much ruined to me."

"There is always something to save," the man replied. "And this Book will help me save my people."

"But who will save _you_!?"

He heard another woman's voice behind him. It was the blonde from before. She leaped into the air in his direction and performed a wide slash with her blade. It was so quick the man had to take a step back, but he tripped and fell onto the ground. Milla kicked away the man's strange weapon aside and pointed her sword at his throat.

"What will you do now?" she asked him. "I can assure you I can put you down faster than your soldiers will react."

"Battlecorps," he said, but Milla swiftly pressed her blade on his neck and gently cut his throat, a bit of blood emerged from it.

"Did I not make myself clear?"

"Put… down your weapons," he ordered his troops.

The soldiers did as they were requested and a metallic sound of dropped weapons resounded. Milla grabbed the man, twisting his hand behind him and causing him pain, while also keeping her blade close to his neck. Presa just watched the whole thing unfold. She was impressed how the blonde was able to keep her cool in a situation like this. Milla slowly backed down towards Presa and the village exit.

"One wrong move and you will end up with one less man," she said towards the Battlecorps. She then turned to Presa, "Put the fire at the gate out and make sure they will have hard time following us."

"What do you intend to do with your hostage?" the spirit asked her.

"Focus on the task at hand for now," Milla ordered and Presa no longer questioned her, opting to follow her lead for the time being.

Presa put out the fire at the exit with her spirit artes and Milla quickly dragged the man with her past the exit, all while the spirit was eyeing their opponents. Presa then drew back as well and conjured a large and wide wall of ice, temporarily blocking their enemies from pursuing them.

Without taking a break, they continued their escape eastward and entered a seashore area with a lot of large, curvy rocks. A variety of marine fiends wandered the place, some occasionally fighting with one another.

"So what do we do with him?" Presa asked.

Milla quickly struck the man on the back of his head with her sword's pommel.

"We could leave him here, tied, or throw him into the ocean," the blonde contemplated.

"Why not just put an end to him now?" Presa suggested.

"That would be too simple," she simply said. "Leaving him behind defenseless, bested by some 'lowlifes', in his mind I presume, would probably hurt his pride more than his simple death."

"Oh, interesting," the spirit replied. "Speaking from experience perhaps?"

"Just something I read in a book. It was called _The Strong, the Weak, and the Fragile_."

Presa chuckled. Milla was a truly strange person: on one hand she was fearless and commanding, but on the other she was a woman without clear purpose and many interesting quirks.

"The ocean sounds good," Presa said.

The two women then tossed him into the water and soon after a tide took him away. Presa also used her artes by conjuring a strong wave that pushed the enemy further into the ocean. Well, one less worry taken away from their minds for now.

"What do we do now?" Milla asked.

"We need to get to Kanbalar," the spirit replied.

"I am afraid I am not very familiar with the land beside the places I were with you," Milla said.

"Well, the quickest way would be to go back to Nia Khera, then proceed through the Xagut Floodmeadow to Xian Du, and from there go to Kanbalar via Mon Highlands. However that is not the safest way right now with all those Rashugal soldiers."

"Rashugal?" Milla was surprised. "Isn't this part of Rieze Maxia supposed to be Auj Oule territory?"

"They're so desperate to get this book of my hands they don't even care on who's territory it will be," Presa nonchalantly waved her hand close to her head and her hair fluttered on the sea breeze.

"Shouldn't this already stir some trouble between the two countries?"

"Verily so!" the spirit replied quite amused. "There have been a few skirmishes between the soldiers of the two countries, but ultimately Rashugal prioritizes me," and she send a wink at Milla who was indifferent to it.

"We should avoid trouble for the time being. Let's continue through this area," the blonde suggested. "We will probably come upon some village or town on our way as we figure our way to Kanbalar then."

Presa agreed and the two proceeded onward, unaware that a third person was hiding in the shadows, following them.

* * *

Explanations:

* Futon – a Japanese traditional bedding comprising a quilted mattress that is usually laid on the floor. A bedding set consists of both a mattress and a duvet. (from Wikipedia)

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

A new chapter appears! After more than a year!

I originally intended to shake things up and make Rowen the elder of Nia Khera, but I decided against it.

Next chapter will see some more action as I intend to introduce some new monsters to _Xillia_ -verse and introducing a new "trait" of sorts to Presa in reference to _Tales of Zestiria_ upon which this story is loosely based.


	3. Chapter 3: Struggling Forward

(September 14, 2017)

* * *

 **Chapter 3. Struggling Forward**

* * *

"Gravity Storm!"

Muzét appeared in the village, conjuring a large blue and violet gravitational sphere, with a swirling pool of darkness beneath it. The sphere grew larger, drawing several Battlecorps soldiers in it, and then it imploded.

* * *

The elder has sensed something strange while attending her duties at the shrine. It was a large group of people nearing Nia Khera. She was certain that it were the same people that were after Presa. It appeared that man was truly intending to save his home, regardless if others were to loose it, or worse.

"It appears that your journey starts now, Milla," Muzét said to herself. "I hope you are ready for what lies in store for you."

* * *

"Lady Muzét!" an elderly man praised. "Thank the Four you have appeared!"

"Certainly," she replied.

"Elder," it was Ivar. It was very obvious he had a lot on his mind right now. "It's about Milla… She…" The man's face was full of pain. "Milla's gone."

"That's quite an interesting turn of events," she commented, tilting her head to a side, putting a finger on her chin. "However, that doesn't change the fact that the village is still under attack." She then turned towards the remaining villagers, "Any combat-capable people please aid me in driving the aggressors away. Others may seek temporary shelter at the shrine!"

Few spirits remained, including Ivar. He, however, was torn between helping the villagers and going after Milla. The woman was strong, she should be able to handle herself without much problem. Besides, she had Presa to keep her company. Not like she needed him anymore, not with such a cool spirit at her side. So he sighed resigned and decided to help in the village.

There were still several soldiers in the village, although Muzét has dealt with a lot of them with her powerful spirit arte. Ivar charged at one of the soldiers, slashing wildly in his spin, ending with a launching upward slash. Another spirit conjures a series of wind discs assaulting another Battlecorps soldier. Muzét then followed by attacking a group of soldiers surrounding her with a thrust of four of her light-covered bangs of hair in four directions around her, knocking them out.

Few soldiers remained, their movements uncertain. Ivar decided to finish them off. He jumped at them and impaled one of his daggers into the ground, conjuring a shockwave that knocked them off. Muzét then joined, conjuring a blue sphere of gravity that briefly grew larger, but imploded shortly after, taking remaining soldiers with it.

"That's the last of them, right?" Ivar asked.

"Yes, I sense no more of them," Muzét replied.

"Thank you, elder," one of the spirits who remained to fight said.

"I was merely performing my duty as the elder of Nia Khera," Muzét smiled. "However, the fact remains that there is a lot of renovating to be done here." She then turned to Ivar, "What will _you_ do though? Help us or follow them? Hmm?"

That was a difficult question to answer. He wondered what was _his_ path.

* * *

Milla and Presa were continuing their journey through the beaches of the new area. The local flora included palm trees, bushes, and some grass, but nothing aggressive.

"These are Kijara Seafalls," Milla said. "Other than that I don't know much about it."

"Well, the local sprit clime has sure given the area an interesting look," Presa commented. "However, we should be careful. We might encounter some… unfortunate fiends."

"Unfortunate?"

As if summoned, several rotten human bodies covered in scales with green-blue limbs emerged from a nearby shore. Their movement was somewhat… wriggly. They were crouched creatures whose sound was nothing more than a grunt, unable to speak.

"How timely of you to show up," Presa said towards the monsters. She then turned to Milla, "These are drowners, human who lost their lives in deep waters."

"And now they live as this horrible creatures!?"

Milla was shocked. Never in her life she saw such a frightening view. The fiends from the Xagut Floodmeadow were nothing in comparison to these creatures. If such horrors are in the world, it no longer surprised Milla that the mysterious man was so focused on "saving his people". However, something about that "saving" was suspicious.

"They're not very strong. Since they're creatures of water, they're resistant to it, but treat them with fire and they're no longer a pest."

"Understood," Milla acknowledged. "Shall we deal with them?"

"If they're in a way to our next location, yes, but I don't see need to fight the small fry. Not my style."

The two then proceeded onward, fighting drowners among other fiends, including overgrown light-blue frogs with tails and green tadpoles, red forward-going crabs, and bipedal fish with two short arms wielding large hooks. They weren't a problem for the two and they were pressing on with little difficulty.

After some time they came upon a large recess in one of the tall rock walls surrounding the place from the north. There was a waterfall and in the recess's center was a somewhat flat, large rock from which a curly rock spike was coming out.

* * *

 **Skit: The Wonders of Spirit Climes**

 _Characters present: Milla, Presa_

Milla: "I was never aware of such magnificent natural structure existing here."

Presa: "Oh. I never took you for such a tourist."

Milla: "Me? A tourist? I'm just passing by, like you. Still, who would have thought that there would be a waterfall here?"

Presa: "Must be the work of the spirit clime. It certainly has created quite a view here, like all around the world."

Milla: "Yes, I heard that spirit climes vary wildly in each region. I have read about a lot of spirit climes, but have hardly encountered them aside of Nia Khera's surroundings."

Presa: "Really? Then you should see how some people have adjusted to spirit climes in their regions. I'm pretty sure you'd be surprised at humans' creativity."

Milla: "I would very much like to experience that."

* * *

Suddenly the water in the recess started to bubble and the two women assumed battle ready poses. A pillar of water then appeared from the bubbles and a large purple octopus jumped out of the water. It immediately spewed several water balls out of its mouth, then followed with a wild assault of his tentacles.

Milla then assaulted the enemy with a graceful series of slashes, followed by an uppercut, a spin, and a downward slash. Presa assisted her with a series of martial artes that included summoning various dragon parts from her standard book. The enemy, however, wasn't giving up so easily. It spit black substance from its mouth, but the two women have evaded it just in time.

"What is that!?" Milla asked, following with a wide fiery slash that sent an arc of fire forward.

"This appears to be Kraken," Presa said, following with a shot of bright blue light at the enemy that exploded into an icy structure that quickly shattered. "It's known as the "Guardian of Depths" and usually attacks ships in the sea. Quite unusual to see it here."

Kraken then performed a jump and his landing has caused a tremor, resulting in both women falling onto the ground. It then charged at the closer one, Milla, and was about to assault it with its tentacles, but Presa has managed to conjure an ice wall in front of her comrade. Coming unexpectedly into contact with the icy structure has thrown the fiend off balance and the women used this to regain their ground.

"Ideally, we would fry it, but we don't have any capability to do that as an individual," Presa said, launching a series of ice shards at their opponent from a white emblem in front of her. "We could try linked artes. We just need to synchronize our Lilium Orbs and then we'll be able to launched a joint attack."

"Why I haven't thought of that sooner?" Milla wondered aloud, performing a spin-slash at the enemy, then leaping into the air and crashing her blade at the ground.

The two women have formed a link between their Lilium Orbs and could already sense the other's movement. Milla was assaulting the fiend with her sword, while Presa did the same with her book and dragon conjury. Kraken was now having some difficulty in slaying his opponents. It again spit some ink, then followed with a flurry of wild tentacle swings. However it was bested when Milla has cut off one of its tentacles, the monster crying in pain, followed with Presa conjuring a dragon arm from her book that ripped another tentacle from Kraken.

The two women, however, hasn't foreseen one thing: the fiend screeched and several small blue octopuses jumped out of the water. They rushed at the two women, intending on killing them. Presa managed to shield herself with an ice wall, while Milla performed a graceful spin followed with a slash that struck several nearby opponents. Kraken then leaped into the air and came crashing, the rock they were fighting on crackling a bit. The octopuses then proceeded with bombarding the two women with blobs of ink, but Milla simply leaped over those, her blade covering with light, and she pointed at one of the fiends, firing a beam of light at them. Presa then conjured a large icy formation, dealing enough damage to slay the octopuses.

Seeing its brethren killed at the hands of the two women, Kraken turned around and started to pound the ground with his bulky back. This has only further increased the damage to the rock. The fiend then quickly turned around and grabbed Milla with one of his tentacles and started to smash her repeatedly into the ground, then threw her away. Presa quickly conjured a small blue glyph with bubbles bursting around its rim beneath Milla, healing some of her wounds.

"Ungh, this is starting to be a drag," complained Presa. "We need to finish it quickly or we're going to end up as its dinner."

"Then let's bring this battle to the end!"

Presa conjures a small cloud some distance from Kraken, then Milla jumped into it as her blade was covered in wind mana. The blonde then emerged from the cloud higher into the sky as her sword crackled with lightning.

"Lightning Impact!"

The two shouted in using as Milla rapidly performed front-flips and crashed her blade into Kraken, summoning a large lightning bolt. The cloud conjured by Presa followed it by firing several smaller lightning bolts at the direction of their opponent. The fiend then turned slightly red as it screeched in pain. Milla conjured a white glyph in front of her from which a spear of light thrust forward. Presa followed with an assault from a horizontal pillar of ice shards.

Kraken was slowly weakening, they could tell by simply looking at it: missing limbs, electrocuted, and worn out from the fight. It spit some ink but it was rather inaccurate and followed with a wild flail of its tentacles that hardly hit its targets.

"Let's finish this!" Milla shouted.

The two women stood at each other's side. Presa turned her back on their foe, slightly crouching, and waving her tail up and down sending arc of water at it. Milla performed a wide blasting slash that sent an arc of wind at their opponent.

"Fulminant Cross!"

The arcs intersected, turning into a cross of lightning that charged through Kraken continuously dealing damage as it passed through it. The red on the fiend has gotten darker and few of its tentacles appeared to have lost most of its zest. It had spit some ink once again, but it had landed very close it: a sign that Kraken was nearly dead.

"O spears of ice, rise from the chilly earth and cradle my foes in a frozen blossom!" Presa started to chant a spirit arte, a large white glyph formed beneath Kraken, small shards of ice forming within it. "Final Embrace!" Nearly instantly it burst into a large ice formation, somewhat resembling a frozen flower. The woman clicked her fingers shortly after, causing the icy formation to violently shatter, dealing further damage to her opponent.

Kraken then somewhat flattened and started to turn into a violet and black smoke, dissipating with swirls flying away from the smoke in the very same colors.

"Incredible..." Milla said amazed, her eyes wide open.

"My spirit artes or those grim wisps?" Presa asked, sending a wink at Milla, who hasn't noticed that, focused on the disappearing fiend.

"Your spirit artes are _indeed_ powerful, but the way that fiend dispersed..." Milla shifted her weight on a single leg and assumed a thoughtful face, her thinking stance. "I have never seen anything like it."

"I see you've led quite a sheltered life before," the spirit commented. "You haven't even heard about it, it seems," she whispered to herself.

"We should continue onward and find some place to rest," Milla suggested.

The two then renewed their walk. The fiends they came upon were quite easy for them to handle, thanks to the battle with Kraken from before that has hardened them a bit. Milla's graceful sword slashes and Presa's aggressive book conjury were doing just a fine job.

About an hour later the surroundings has changed quite drastically and from a warm, seaside path they stepped into a valley. There was an already beaten up path further ahead, suggesting that there was a settlement somewhere close. The valley was also covered in trees and bushes. Like in the Kijara Seafalls, fiends were lurking around here.

"Strange, the sun is already setting," Milla commented. "It should be as such for the few more hours."

"This is Hamil's spirit clime," explained Presa. "In the day it's always a sunset around here, although nights are pretty standard."

"Is Hamil a settlement perhaps?" the blonde inquired. They needed rest, even though they were on the run.

"Yes, the locals specialize is growing fruit. They even make alcohol out of them."

"Perhaps we could rest there?" Milla wondered.

"It's pretty close to Aladhi Seahaven from Hamil, I see no need to make a stop for a rest there, although we could buy some supplies there," reasoned Presa. "Besides, those Rashugal soldiers won't consider that we only passed by the village, buying us time."

"That sounds reasonable, although won't they harm villagers?"

"That'd be their problem then."

Presa's words were cruel: the villagers would likely engage with the Battlecorps in some kind of fight and would come with losses. However it was important to deliver the book that Presa carried to Kanbalar and give it to the king of Auj Oule.

"Let's resupply there and continue onward as you suggest then."

Milla accepted, despite her inner conflict of not wanting to involve the inhabitants of Hamil. Nia Khera hasn't fared well during the attack of Rashugal soldiers, but with Ivar, the elder, and a few combat-trained spirits she was sure they have repelled them. Hamil probably has only a few Auj Oule soldiers stationed there, but likely not enough to repel the Battlecorps.

The two women then pressed forward, battling an occasional fiend or two on their way. Milla hoped that Rashugal soldiers wouldn't follow them for now. After all they have tossed their boss into the ocean so that should buy them some time.

Meanwhile a tall man in his late twenties was following them from some distance. He was watching them. He wielded a large sword and a strange weapon, similar to that of the man that led Battlecorps into Nia Khera. He aimed it at the spirit, while having one of his eyes shut. However he didn't fire and put his weapon aside.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Third chapter is here and surprisingly soon.

Ivar is having a real problem now: stay in Nia Khera or follow Milla. Meanwhile, Milla and Presa are traveling to Kanbalar via a rather lengthy route, _and_ they are followed by a "mysterious man".

Like always I'm open to comments and suggestions and critic.


End file.
